Beauty And The Brooding Billionaire. Donna Alward

to oh, so well. A pit opened in her stomach, a reminder of the dark days she’d had after Ana’s death. And a well of sympathy, too. How devastated he must be.

      She met Tori’s gaze and sighed. “It was in the news.”

      Tori nodded. “I don’t want to betray a confidence, you understand. But yes, he’s been struggling with his grief.”

      “And values his privacy. I understand now.” And her frustration melted away, replaced by sympathy.

      “Do you?” Tori’s eyes were sharp. “Because he’s one of the best men I know. He’s one of the reasons Jeremy and I are together.”

      Jess stared into the flickering fire. “A few years ago I lost my mentor and...well, the best friend a person could have. I’m just now starting to paint again. So yes, I get it. Grief can destroy the deepest and best parts of us if we’re not careful.”

      Silence fell over the patio for a few minutes. Then Tori spoke up. “I’m sorry about your friend. And I agree with you. Which was why I sent you over there in the first place.”

      Jess’s head snapped up. “You did?”

      Tori nodded. “He needs someone to stir him up a bit. Looks like you did.”

      Jess wasn’t too sure of that. But her heart gave a twist, thinking of what he’d lost, what he was suffering and how alone he must feel. Because she’d been there. And she’d come out the other side.

      He hadn’t. And that made her sorry indeed.

       CHAPTER TWO

      BRAN HAD BEEN up for a walk at dawn, made himself breakfast, had thrown in a load of laundry and was now left with most of the day stretching before him. Each day he had the same ritual. Walk, eat, some sort of menial chore. Check email. Anything to procrastinate so he wouldn’t spend hours staring at an empty document. He got through those daily rituals just fine, but the moment he opened up a new file on his laptop, he froze.

      He wrote mysteries, and right now, anything dealing with a murder and victims was too much. Even though Jennie and Owen had been in a highway accident and not victims of violence, he just couldn’t deal with the idea of dead bodies. The grief was too much. His memory was too vivid.

      Instead, he went upstairs and out on the balcony. The fresh air bit at his cheeks, carrying the tang of the ocean as the sky spread blue and wide above him. The lighthouse stood sentinel at the corner of the property, and he shoved his hands in his jeans pockets, thinking of yesterday and the woman who’d shown up uninvited.

      She was right. He’d been a jerk. Right now he didn’t know how to be anything else. But he was slightly sorry for it. Maybe would be more sorry if she’d been hurt by his gruffness. Instead, she’d been annoyed, and her eyes had sparked with it. It was hard to be sorry for that. She had beautiful eyes, annoyed or not.

      He’d been standing there for twenty minutes when a movement caught his eye, just off the shore. He frowned. Was that a boat? He squinted; the sun glinted off the water in blinding flashes, but yes, there was definitely a boat out there, maybe a few hundred yards off the coastline. Certainly no farther. The sea was still rough, and he watched the boat bob and rock, at the mercy of the waves.

      Foolish person. The boat couldn’t be more than maybe fifteen, sixteen feet. On a calm day, and with a skilled pilot, a boat like that could fare pretty well in open water. He’d certainly gone fishing in his and had no trouble at all. But today wasn’t calm. The surf had been high since the storm earlier in the week, and whoever was at the wheel wasn’t looking very competent, either. He frowned, and turned to get his binoculars from downstairs. When he returned, the boat was closer to shore, and still bobbing as it drifted.

      He lifted the binoculars, focused in, and cursed.

      What in hell was she doing? Foolish woman! Out there in a boat, camera around her neck, trying to take stupid pictures! Had he not made his point? He ran his hand through his hair and lifted the binoculars once more. A rolling wave hit the boat sideways, throwing her off balance. She fell, and his heart froze for a few moments as she disappeared from view. Had she hit her head? Was she okay? He held his breath until he saw her struggling to stand again. She turned the craft into the waves, and he hoped to God that she was going to give it some gas and get out of there. But she didn’t. She wanted her pictures too badly. As she lifted her camera again, another heavy wave crested and knocked her to the side, while water splashed over boat and woman. If she wasn’t careful, she’d be knocked overboard. Or worse...she’d be swept in toward the jagged rocks at the point. The lighthouse was there for a reason, after all.

      Another wave swamped the boat and panic settled in his gut. He took off the binoculars and raced down the stairs, out the front door, and to the natural steps leading to his beach and the private dock. It took only a few moments for him to throw on a life vest and start the engine of the boat that was only slightly bigger than hers. He drew away from the dock and opened the throttle as he made his way toward her, his heart pounding as the boat lifted and bottomed out with each rolling wave. If she wasn’t swept overboard, she was going to hit the rocks, and neither outcome was particularly appealing. The water was freezing, and while he was confident in his piloting skills, he wasn’t so sure about his rescue ones. The only option was to get her out of there.

      He got close enough to see that Jessica’s delicate pale skin was even paler, her eyes wide with fear. Her jaw tightened as she saw that he was behind the wheel, and she waved him off. “I’ve got this!” she called. “Go away!”

      His fear disintegrated and anger took its place. “Are you kidding me?” He pulled as close as he dared without danger of them crashing together. “You’re either going to fall overboard or run into those rocks! Do what I tell you.”

      Her face flattened. “No man is going to tell me to—”

      He swore, and loudly, and Jessica’s mouth clamped shut in surprise. “I’m going to tow you back,” he shouted. “No arguments. Now shut up and let me help.”

      When she didn’t argue, he figured she’d either finally seen common sense or was too scared to do otherwise. It took several minutes for them to secure her boat to his, with the ominous cliffs of the point coming ever closer. Bran gritted his teeth and pushed the throttle forward, taking up the slack between the two boats as the motor labored to take them both into the oncoming waves and away from shore. Jessica, to his relief, had finally done what he’d told her and was sitting obediently in the captain’s seat. The chop smoothed out as they got closer to the tiny cove sheltering his beach, and once they got close to the dock, he stopped, put down his anchor and pulled Jessica’s boat close enough he could board. She stood, avoiding his gaze, and stepped away from the wheel.

      He stepped in just as a wave sent her off balance and crashing into him.

      She was damp from spray, and yet warm and soft as he caught her in his arms and their bodies meshed together awkwardly. Bran put his hands on her upper arms to steady her and push her away. But the damage was done. Her gaze caught his and her cheeks—already rosy from the wind and water—reddened. His gaze dropped to her full, pink lips and his irritation grew. It was bad enough she was a thorn in his side...it was too much that she was also adorable. She bit down on her lip, and he nearly groaned. Adorable wasn’t quite the right word. Infuriating and...sexy, dammit.

      He pushed his way around her. After disconnecting the towrope, he guided her little boat into his dock and secured it. He left her on the wooden platform and, ignoring the freezing temperatures, dove into the water. Perhaps it would help cool his temper, which was still raging.

      The icy shock definitely cleared his mind. He wasted no time climbing the little ladder into his craft, then started the engine and guided it in to the dock. Soaked and shivering, he jumped out and glared at Jessica, who was standing on the dock, looking quite chastised and embarrassingly repentant.

      He would not let that get to him. He would